Do I really need a cover letter for a tech job?
Let’s be honest. Job searching these days can be awful.
You find a job to apply for.
You upload your resume.
You then manually enter all of the information that is already on your resume.
You submit (and probably never hear back).
Repeat.
And then on top of it, they all ask you for a personalized letter.
Seriously?
With the amount of time it takes to apply for these countless jobs, is it actually worth your time to bother with cover letters?
Are Cover Letters Actually Read?
One of my favorite features on BeyondCode is our “Expert Advice”. I surveyed people all across my network in tech asking them their honest opinion on many different topics.
For anyone who was a hiring manger, one of those topics was cover letters. To sum up their responses, they mostly looked like this:
Question: Are cover letters required?
Answer: No
Question: Do you read cover letters?
Answer: Yes
These responses seem to agree with a recent survey from Resume Genius. They report that 83% of hiring managers read most cover letters they receive. 83%!
Alright, alright fine – cover letters are usually read. But are they actually helpful and worth the effort to write?
Standing Out As An Applicant
Let’s think about the application process.
For each job you apply to, you’re actively competing with every other applicant.
(Very revolutionary insight, I know)
But given that we’re constantly competing, we need ways to stand out whenever possible.
Obviously, your resume the main tool for distinguishing yourself prior to interviews. The only issue is they usually lack personality.
The cover letter on the other hand gives us a brief chance to be personable. We can introduce who we are, why we’re interested in the company, and the value we can bring them.
On top of that, cover letters also show that you care enough about the job to go out of your way and submit a letter. If you were equally tied with another candidate based on resumes, a well written letter might give you that slight edge.
The Secret to Writing Quick Cover Letters
So as I’m sure you can guess, I strongly urge candidates to take the time to submit cover letters (especially if you’re applying to a company you’re really interested in).
Now I know many are you are ready to scoff and tell me the application process is bad enough without having to pretend your Mark Twain each time. I agree with you.
While I think you should submit cover letters, I don’t think you should write new ones each time. That’d be an insane ask of someone.
That said, I also don’t think a completely reusable cover letter does much for you. It’s pretty obvious from a hiring manager’s perspective if it’s just a copy paste letter.
The secret is learning how to create a mostly reusable letter that you are able to cater slightly.
You’ll want to spend time creating a base cover letter that will be ~80% reusable. I usually do a small paragraph introducing myself, a small paragraph talking about the company, and a conclusion sentence.
Then as you apply to different jobs, you can add just a few small details that show you’ve catered the letter to this company.
Real Example
To help demonstrate my point, I’ve taken two sentences from the actual cover letter I used when applying to LinkedIn.
In order to show how it’s reusable, I’ve highlighted it in the following colors:
Green: Shouldn’t Change
Yellow: Might Change
Red: Should Change
First, let’s look at a sentence from my intro:
I recently discovered your job opening for an Android Developer. I am currently a Senior Mobile Developer for a company that provides mobile development solutions for high end clients such as [Client 1] and [Client 2].
As you can see, almost nothing here changes. The only possible thing would be if I apply for a job with a different title.
Now, let’s look at a sentence where I discuss the company:
I noticed that your company has a mission to provide economic opportunity for all members of the global workforce. I find this to strongly align with my own passion for creating software that provides opportunity for people in need.
In this case, I simply swap out the company’s specific values into the first red block. Then I mention why I align with those values in the second red block. I might need to update the parts in yellow (like if they say “Company Values” instead of “Company Mission”), but it’s not too often.
All in all, this process of tweaking my cover letter doesn’t take much extra time. I can look up some info on the company, swap out some words, and submit the cover letter in under 5 minutes.
Conclusion
While cover letters aren’t a requirement, I am of the opinion that applicants should use everything at their disposal to stand out. I think they provide a chance to show a bit more personality and interest in the company.
While writing cover letters from scratch each time would be insane, a mostly reusable cover letter is a quick and effective way to stand out.
If you’re interested in more, I’ve created a whole course on how to write a tech cover letter. I walk through the process step by step and help you write a letter that will really make you stand out as an applicant:
- There’s a science to getting noticed – and we know the formula
- 26 mins
- 7 lessons
